Door-latch.



A. NEUENSGHWANDER.

DOOR LATCH. APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 6, 1909.

960,381. Patented June 7, 1910.

1 WITNESSES: INVENTORI 2% v %"A TTORNEY'.

ADAM NEUENSCHWANDER, OF BERNE, INDIANA.

DOOR-LATCH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADAM NEUENSOHWAN- DER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Berne, in the county of Adams, in the State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDoor-Latches; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to improvements in door latches.

The primary object of my present invention is to provide a cheap,simple, eflicient, reliable and durable door latch specially designedfor barn doors, either sliding or hinged, and adapted to be opened fromeither the inside or the outside with equal facility.

My invention consists of an upright supporting plate having a centrallongitudinal slot in which a gravity latch is pivotally mounted, and apivoted catch in transverse arrangement on the plate in cooperativerelation with the said latch, and adapted to secure the latch out of itsholding relation when the door is open.

The principal novel feature of my invention resides in the cooperativerelation of the latch and the catch whereby the latch can readily beopened from either side of the door, and it can be temporarily securedout of its holding position when desired.

Similar reference numerals indicate like parts in the several views inwhich Figure 1 is an edge view of my invention in position in a barndoor shown in a fragmentary section, the latch being shown in itsholding position and its position when engaged by the catch being shownin dotted outline. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of my invention showingthe relative arrangement and manner of mounting the latch and the catch.Fig. 3 is a plan view of my invention showing the position of the latchwhen engaged with its locking pin. Fig. 4 is a detail front view of theslotted plate on which the coacting latch and catch are mounted.

All parts of my invention are made of suitable metal. The plate 1 ofproper dimensions has a longitudinal sl0t 2 midway of its sides for thedoor latch hereafter de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 6, 1909.

Patented June 7, 1910. .Serial No. 481,769.

scribed, and is provided near its upper end with a pair of integralguides 3 in parallel relation and directly opposite the upper end of theslot 2, and has near its lower end the parallel ears 6 in which thepivot pin 8 is rigidly fixed. This plate is rigidly fixed upon the outerface of the door 4; by proper screws and which is provided with avertical slot 5 in register with the slot 2. The latchbar 7 is pivotallymounted near its lower end on the pin 8, and has a pendent extension 9for the purpose about to be described. The latchbar has its upper endconsiderably ex tended to substantially the upper limit of the slot 5,and then laterally curved into a position approximately at right anglesto the lower end of the bar as shown in Fig. 1. The upper edge of thecurved upper end of the bar 7 has a transverse notch 19 to receive theadjacent edge of the interlocking catch about to be described.

In the guides 3 is loosely mounted a horizontally arranged catch 10which is pivoted at one end on the screw 11 fixed in the opening 12 ofthe plate 1. This catch 10 has its other free end 13 bent atsubstantially right angles to its main body and then passed through asuitable slot 14 in the door, Fig. 3. At a suitable point on the catch10 is arranged a fixed or integral lateral lug 15 which serves as ahandle for lifting the latch.

In a suitable post 16 arranged in proper relation to the slot 5 of thedoor 4, is fixed a pin 17 in substantially the same horizontal plane asis the pin 8, whereby when the free end of the latch rests thereon, Fig.1, it is in a substantially horizontal position. The pin 17 has a head18 upon its outer end to prevent lateral displacement of the latch whenin its engagement therewith.

The operation and manner of employing my invention thus described isobvious and briefly stated is as follows: When it is desired to open thedoor 1 from the outside, assuming the door to be locked, the operatorelevates the latch 7 into the dotted outline position thereof in Fig. 1,by the pressure of his thumb on the pendent extension 9. In the lastmentioned position the latch is at its outermost limit because theextension 9 comes into contact with the outer face of the plate 1 belowthe slot 2. In this elevating movement of the latch the catch will beautomatically elevated by contact with the latch, and will then resumeits normal position by gravity, and will rest in the notch 19 of thelatch, and thereby temporarily secure the same in its elevated position,which is very convenient when the door is open. When the operatordesires to close and latch the doorfrom the outside he simply lifts thecatch by means of the lug after which the latch 7 descends by gravity toits holding engagement with the pin 17 To open the latched door from theinside thereof, the operator simply elevates the latch from itsengagement with the catch as before by seizing the inner-end thereof,

and to latch the door from the inside the operator simply elevates thecatch 10 by means of the inwardly extended end 13, after which the latchwill automatically re-' sume its holding engagement with the pin 17 bygravity as before.

Having thus described my invention and the manner of employing the sameWhat I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

: 1. In a door latch a baseplate having a longitudinal slot therein; alatch bar pivotally mounted in the said slot and having a curved innerend, and a pendent lower end,

the latch being adapted to be temporarily secured in an uprightposition, and to form a holding engagement when in a horizontalposition; and a horizontally arranged catch pivoted on said plate, andprovided with means for. limiting its vertical play, and adapted toengage the said latch when in its upright position.

2. A door latch comprising the combination of a base plate having avertical slot thereinya gravity latch pivotally mounted in the saidslot, andprovided upon its outer end with means for limiting its outwardmovement; and a pivoted gravity catch pivoted on the base'plate intransverse relation Withthe said slot and at or near its upper end, andadapted toiengagethe latch when in its elevated position in the slot.

Signed by me at Berne,Adams county, State of Indiana, this 13th day ofFebruary, 1909.

ADAM NEUENSCHWANDER.

Witnesses:

J. D. WINTEREGG, EMIL LmoHTY.

